First Edition Cycling News for May 15, 2007

Landis' hearing into 'holy mess' begins

The arbitration hearing for embattled Tour de France winner Floyd Landis
began on Monday in Malibu, California at Pepperdine University's school
of law. Landis' attorney Maurice Suh began the hearing with an opening
statement that continued the blasting of United States Anti-Doping Agency,
World Anti-Doping Authority and the French LNDD (Laboratoire National
de Dépistage du Dopage/National Anti-doping Laboratory) lab that the Landis
side has done publicly for months, calling the handling of Landis' testing
"an embarrassment" and that USADA had turned the case to prove
Landis' guilt into "a holy mess".

The hearing will be decided by a three person panel made up of legal
experts in the area of arbitration. Suh framed the entire case for the
panel in terms of a question they should ask themselves at the conclusion
of the ten day hearing. "Did Floyd, knowing he would be tested, take
testosterone which he knew would not have a beneficial effect?"

He then stressed the obvious point that the outcome of this hearing,
either way, will have a ripple effect throughout cycling, and likely all
of sport. "Never in the history of the Tour de France has the winner
been accused of doping. This is a historic case that has to be done right."

In response to Suh's opening statements, USADA's lawyer Richard Young
said that "Landis bet the house" referring to the second round
of tests ordered by Landis. "He lost the bet. The respondent [Landis]
went eight for eight positive."

The USADA witnesses and legal counsel spent much of the day laying the
groundwork for a defense against the appeal, preempting the expected case
of procedural errors by the Landis team - much of which was first made
public by them late in 2006 and revealed in more detail in the months
since.

The majority of the testimony today was by USADA's expert witness, Dr.
J. Thomas Brenna, most of which centered around the procedural aspects
of the case. There were numerous questions regarding things such as calibration,
quality control and maintenance of the testing equipment and the actions
of the people operating it at the LNDD lab, to which Dr. Brenna unilaterally
declared that all equipment and personnel performed up to par. In his
own words, the quality control of the LNDD lab was, "very impressive."

Dr. Brenna went on to describe the actual testing procedures in minute
detail, but following a noticeably rehearsed plan with USADA's council,
Richard Young. Though there were many lines of questions/answers that
were expressed in extremely scientific terms, the USADA team made an effort
to decipher the terminology for the panel. The testimony boiled down to
affirmation that the process was performed correctly and that there was
no possibility for error. However, the true test of the hearing, for both
sides, might be the ability for either side to explain their interpretation
of the data without confusing the panel.

The cross-examination of Dr. Brenna began with less than an hour in
the proceedings, and consisted of essentially splitting hairs - with Dr.
Brenna qualifying his responses to the Landis team in the realm of theory
and hypothesis. After 40 minutes of cross-examination, the panel adjourned
the hearing until tomorrow. Richard Young did provide a long list of witnesses
for tomorrow's schedule, with many more experts to come.

Landis himself remained attentive throughout the testimony of the witnesses,
occasionally looking back to the numerous family and friends, including
his mother, sitting behind him in the gallery. A few lighter moments of
the day produced an occasional smile and chuckle from Landis, such as
the moments of juggling the variety of visual aid equipment, but otherwise
everything was all business. Following the hearing, Landis left the building
with no comment for the assembled press corps.

The rare open-to-the-public hearing was attended by some press and other
members of the public, but not to the extreme numbers that were expected.
About half of the gallery was occupied, with many of the seats filled
by Landis' entourage. However, Landis is expected to take the witness
stand in the next few days which should increase the size of the audience.

WADA granted access to Operación Puerto case

After a previously denied request, the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA)
has been granted permission to be a party in the Operación Puerto
case. WADA was authorised by the Spanish judicial system on May 7 not
only to access the files of Operación Puerto, including
the recently released 6000 page dossier, but also to intervene in the
case.

A statement on the WADA website after a board meeting this weekend said:
"WADA will review the documents for elements which may be used for
sports disciplinary purposes and will work with UCI. WADA also is filing
an appeal against the decision of the Spanish judge to suspend the proceedings."

La Gazzetta dello Sport published a report on April 30 describing
a 6000 page dossier
released by the Guardia Civil in Madrid to the UCI on Operación
Puerto. The document allegedly implicated an additional 49 cyclists
on top of the 58 already named in the original 500 page dossier.

CONI asks for Basso and Scarponi suspension

The Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) has asked the disciplinary
committee of the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) for suspensions for
Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi. Both riders have confessed their involvement
in Operación Puerto.

CONI asked for a "preventative suspension" while the investigation
runs its course. No information was provided by CONI about the duration
of the suspension although it confirmed the request on its website.

Basso admitted to "attempted doping," but denied using illegal
substances or engaging in blood doping. Scarponi also signed a ten-page
confession after meetings with CONI. Both riders have been cooperating
with authorities since their admission, and while Italian media outlets
have speculated that Basso might receive a reduced sentence in exchange
for his cooperation, UCI President Pat McQuaid has denied
such a possibility and heavily criticised Basso for waiting so long
to admit his guilt.

The default doping violation punishment is two years suspension from
cycling plus another two years prohibition from the ProTour.

Caisse d'Epargne to investigate its Puerto suspects

Following last week's reports
in the Italian press that Caisse d'Epargne leader Alejandro Valverde was
implicated in the Operación Puerto doping affair, the Spanish team
is to investigate the allegations after pressure from its title sponsor.
According to L'Equipe, Caisse d'Epargne, a large French financial
organisation, is supposedly concerned about its image and has warned team
manager José-Miguel Echávarri that the current sponsorship
contract, scheduled to end in 2010, may be in called into question.

In addition to Valverde, team riders Ruben Plaza and Constantino Zaballa
have also been listed as Puerto suspects and both were removed
from Caisse d'Epargne's Giro d'Italia line-up to comply with the wishes
of race organisers RCS Sport. However, all three recently participated
in the Clásica Internacional a Alcobendas in Spain where Valverde
won the final stage time trial and Plaza finished fourth overall.

Hoy calls time on kilo attempt

After coming agonisingly close to setting a new world record for the
kilometre time trial, Chris Hoy has said that he will not make a third
attempt to better Arnaud Tournant's world best of 58.875 seconds, set
seven years ago on the same high altitude track in Bolivia.

"I don't plan to go for the kilo again. I gave it everything and
it was so frustrating to miss it by that little margin, but that's sport
and you have to accept it," Hoy told the BBC.

The Scotsman had two tilts at the kilo record on Saturday and Sunday,
clocking times of 59.103 and 58.880 seconds respectively at the Alto Irpavi
velodrome in La Paz.

Following his second kilo attempt, the 31 year-old got back on his bike
to better Arnaud Duble's 500m standing start world record, which he said
was some consolation for missing the kilo mark. "It was an amazing
feeling, I just felt as though I was flying down the back straight. It
was a dream ride, everything about it was perfect," said Hoy.

"Part of the battle was trying to get the right weather conditions.
It was 25-26C, the wind dropped for 10 minutes and the opportunity was
there. After the disappointment of the kilometre, I wanted to go home
with something and I'm happy for all the team that I've set this record."

Cooke not making World Cup predictions

Reigning Women's World Cup champion Nicole Cooke has said she'll wait
and see how the 2007 season continues to unravel before making any predictions
on her chances of retaining the title, after fierce rival Marianne Vos
closed the World Cup gap at the weekend's Switzerland round. Vos closed
the World Cup standings gap by taking second place to Cooke's fourth in
the weekend's Tour de Berne, reducing the margin between the pair by 20
points.

"I've won the World Cup overall twice and it was a fantastic achievement,"
Cooke told Womenscycling.net. "If I could do it again I'd be very
happy, we'll see how the season goes."

Cooke continues to lead the World Cup standings on 251 points to Vos'
195. The British rider opened the 2007 season in astonishing style, taking
victory at the Rone van Vlannderen Woprld Cup Race, Geelong World Cup
Race, Geelong Tour, Trofeo Alfredo Binda, and Trofeo Costa Etrusca.

T-Mobile looking to sprinters

Team T-Mobile is counting on its young sprinters at the Rheinland-Pfalz
Rundfahrt, which starts Wednesday in Koblenz, Germany. Gerald Ciolek and
Andre Greipel will lead the team in the five-stage race.

Ciolek recently took a stage win in the Niedersachsen Rundfahrt, while
Greipel is still looking for his first season win. Its sprints will be
prepared by Roger Hammond, Andre Korff and Eric Baumann, who recently
helped Mark Cavendish to two stage wins in Dunkirk.

Orozco signs with Euskaltel

By Antonio J. Salmerón

The Spanish Euskaltel Euskadi ProTour squad has announced the hiring
of the promising young Orbea rider Juan José Oroz for the remainder of
the 2007 season. The 26 year-old ruder will make his debut with the 'orange'
squad at the Volta a Catalunya, which begins on May 21.

UCI vice-president gets GAISF role

Hein Verbruggen, vice-president of the UCI, has been elected as the General
Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) president, the
UCI has announced. Verbruggen was elected for the roll at a meeting last
month held in Beijing, which will host next year's Olympic Games.

The organisation "represents the sole forum bringing together the whole
of sports organizations once a year to exchange viewpoints on themes of
common interest," according to its website.

Verbruggen, who is also an International Olympic Committee member, will
complete a four year term at the helm of the organisation, which includes
104 international sports federations and organizations.

Irish cyclists wanted to raise money for cancer

Despite having produced winners of almost every professional bike race
on the international calendar, cycling in Ireland takes a back seat to
the country's national games - gaelic football and hurling. The best players
are feted at an annual awards ceremony where they are selected on an All-Star
team.

One such player is Tony Griffin. The 26 year-old plays hurling - the
fastest ball sport in the world - for his hometown club of Ballyea and
his county Clare. Despite being nominated as an All-Star last year, Griffin
has turned his back on the chance to play regularly in front of 80,000
fans, swapped his hurley for a bike and taken to hanging around with seven
times Tour De France winner Lance Armstrong.

When Griffin decided he wanted to raise some money for charity after
his father, Jerome, died of lung cancer in 2005, he decided to do as he
always has done, and aimed high. He put his place on the Clare team and
his love of hurling aside, swapping it all for a bicycle and prepared
for a mammoth six week, 7000 kilometre ride across Canada and Ireland
which he hopes will see him raise a massive €1000,000 for his chosen charities:
the Irish Cancer Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Ovarian Cancer
Canada.

During his time in North America Griffin visited Armstrong at the Tour
de France champion's home in Texas, taking some time to go for a ride
with the now retired cycling super-star and cancer survivor.

Griffin, who has already received over 500,000 Canadian dollars In pledges
and donations, is appealing for people to join him on his 'Ride For The
Cure' across Canada and Ireland and raise money for this worthy cause.
With Griffin due to return to Ireland for the final two stages of his
Ride For The Cure on June 30 and July 1, the organisers are looking for
up to 250 cyclists to take up the challenge and ride with him on his final
journey home to Ennis, where a festival atmosphere is assured. Griffin
will fly home from Canada to join up with Irish fundraisers from all over
the country and indeed the world, in Athlone on June 30 before his final
stage to his hometown of Ennis the next day.

"We are looking for Irish people to join us on our challenge to raise
one million euros to beat cancer," says Griffin's Irish sponsor Martin
Donnelly. "Individuals can do the penultimate leg of the Irish trip from
their nearest starting point in either Monaghan, Sligo, Ballina, Limerick
or Dublin to Athlone. They can do the final leg from Athlone to Ennis,
where we are guaranteed a festive welcome, or they can do part of either
ride, or both rides. We want participants to raise a minimum of 1,000
euros each to help us reach our goal and we will provide food and accommodation,
back-up support and insurance for the event. This is a mammoth challenge
and has captured the imagination of millions of people in Canada already."

Interested parties are assured they don't have to be an accomplished
cyclist to take part. "This time last year, Tony didn't even own a bike
himself! We will give participants all the support you need to get through
the ride and to help in fundraising for the event, which is the main priority
after all. In fact you don't have to be able to ride the whole way. Raising
the money and raising awareness is the most important thing".

For further information on this amazing project visit www.tonygriffinfoundation.com
or for a sign-up pack call Eleanor at the Irish Cancer Society on (01)
2310500.

CSC to sponsor Amateur Hill Climb

Pro Cycling Tour, organiser of the Commerce Bank Triple Crown of Cycling,
has announced Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) will again sponsor the
series, with the company renewing its title sponsorship of the Amateur
Hill Climb.

"CSC is pleased to once again help bring both the Triple Crown of
Cycling, and one of the top teams in the world, Team CSC, to the tri-state
region," said CSC president Mike Laphen. "With many clients
and members of our 77,000 person global workforce based in this area,
supporting the long tradition of this racing series, and the top class
athletes who compete in it, is a natural for CSC."

The Amateur Hill Climb will be held on the evening of Friday, June 8
and will see riders take on the Manayunk Wall in Philadelphia. The series
of races in comprised of and event in Lancaster on June 3, Reading on
June 7 and Philadelphia on June 10.

For more information on the races making up the Commerce Bank Triple
Crown of Cycling, go to www. procylingtour.com.

First winners of Fantasy Giro game confirmed!

We are delighted to confirm the first three winners of the daily stage
prizes here at Fantasy Cyclingnews. It's been a tough battle each day
at the top with an unprecedented amount of high scoring teams in this
year's game.

The managers win a pair of Tifosi Optics Forza glasses. Each day of the
Giro a prize is awarded to the Stage points leader. Remember you can take
part for free until stage 6 begins. There's plenty of time still to create
your teams. You have until
Friday May 18 to finalise your teams. You can play for
free for the first five stages! Try the game out and see how best
to play.

It's easy to play the Grand Tour games - all you need to do is pick your
dream team of 15 from the riders racing in this year's Giro start list.
Then each day pick nine riders to race for your fantasy team from these
15. You'll need a good combination of climbers, sprinters and general
classification riders. For more details go to the rules
section of the site. It's a great way to follow the Giro.